Over the Black Light
Yamato prepares to use the Garmillas controlled subspace gate network. Field Marshal Herm Zoellik moves to fill the leadership vacuum left behind by Abelt Dessler, with a direct appeal to the imperial military. Summary Reconnaissance The battleship Yamato continues to hold position near an abandoned Aquarius gate. In his quarters, Admiral Juzo Okita discusses preparations for the ship's journey through the gate to Balun, tens of thousands of light years and mere moments away. He thanks Yurisha Iscandar--inhabiting the body of Yuria Misaki--for her help in reactivating the gate, who responds by asking Okita to show appreciation through his actions. A Garmillas fighter plane stored at the gate complex has been brought aboard Yamato and fitted with a non-alien navigation system for reconnaissance of the gate network. Before the mission begins, fighter pilot Hiroki Shinohara chats with Akira Yamamoto in the pilot ready room about why he volunteered to pilot the fighter. He shares a memory of watching a recon plane during his time as a trainee and being impressed with its majestic beauty. Yamamoto makes him promise to return safely. Shinohara dons a flight helmet and suit altered to resemble Garmillan equipment and takes off in the captured fighter, designated "Sword 3" in honor of Yamamoto's brother. The plane passes through the gate's dimensional boundary, and the two-hour countdown before Yamato is forced to abandon Shinohara and the gate begins. Flying through a subspace corridor, Shinohara encounters turbulence and disorienting streams of energy, but he manages to stay on course. He spots several Garmillas ships headed in the same general direction. The fighter crosses through the next gate and safely re-enters normal space. Happy to have survived his voyage through the gate network, Shinohara becomes aware of the Garmillas warships all around him, an armada of at least ten thousand ships that encircles Balun, and wave after wave of fighters. He begins his scans, identifies another gate leading to the Large Magellanic Cloud, and then begins examining the glowing ovoid planet itself. He focuses attention on an artificial construct at the core of the planet when a radio transmission demands that he identify himself. Shinohara turns around and rockets madly through the gathering fleet back toward the galactic theater gate as enemy vessels open fire. One shot cripples Sword 3, but it re-enters the gate and vanishes inside the subspace corridor. Back aboard Yamato, an unconscious Shinohara lies in sickbay, with Yamamoto sitting at his bedside. Okita and the senior staff review the recon data in a conference room. Science officer Shiro Sanada determines that Balun itself is an artificial planet powering the hub of the subspace gate network. He notes that the Magellanic gate is operational, but with ten thousand enemy ships gathered in orbit, reaching it seems to be an impossible task. Sanada recommends that Yamato forego the gates and take an alternate course across intergalactic space, but Okita declines. Seizing the Throne of Garmillas In the otherwise empty chambers of Leader Abelt Dessler in the capital city of Baleras, minister of propaganda Miezela Celestella meets with Imperial Guard director Hydom Gimleh. He reports that Field Marshal Herm Zoellik seems be in a very positive mood. Celestella is suspicious of Zoellik, and believes that the massive naval review of Garmillan warships called by him to Balun is far from ordinary. Balun space continues to fill with vessels. The battleship Goergametsch lifts off from the planetary base and comes alongside Marshal Zoellik's flagship, Sehrgut II, as it transits through the Magellanic gate and takes position in the fleet. Major General Gremdt Goer enters the Sehrgut II bridge and immediately bows to Zoellik, making an obsequious show of thanking him for conducting the naval review at Balun. Zoellik interrupts him and vaguely announces that it is his duty to rescue the empire from the greatest danger it has ever faced, scaring Goer. A moment later, he looks out at the military might of the empire that has assembled here, and is inspired. Eventually, Zoellik addresses the fleet, standing at a flag-draped podium on his flagship bridge, with Goer and other officers at attention behind him. He begins with a tragedy that has been hidden for weeks: Leader Dessler is dead. The news stuns the men and women serving on every ship and on the base. Suddenly stopping his tearful tone, Zoellik defiantly announces that he is ready to lead the empire into a new era, to guide it in its time of need and to continue the work left behind by Dessler. Shifting tone again, he calls upon the military to follow him and to carry out a merciless purge of those in the government who have unjustly kept their leader's death a secret--but he abruptly turns to the officers behind him and demands to know what they are whispering about. Brigadier General Basiv Vandevel notifies Zoellik that an alien ship is about to emerge from the galactic theater gate. The Fall of Balun :For more details on the battle, see Raid on Balun. Yamato exits the gate and immediately races toward Balun and into the swarm of enemy vessels, firing its weapons to clear the way. Sensing a military victory that will crown his bid for power, Zoellik orders the fleet to close in and destroy the alien invader, despite a growing number of friendly fire casualties and collisions. A handful of cruisers pull alongside Yamato and score several hits, and the battleship seems to plummet into the clouds toward Balun's core, defeated. Zoellik savors his victory and explodes in laughter despite Goer's obvious discomfort at the high cost, and mocks his political adversary, Erich Domel. The communications system suddenly activates in a burst of static and a voice that greets Zoellik personally. The marshal is horrified as the image on the main bridge viewscreen appears. Leader Dessler sits at a desk flanked by Wolf Frakken aboard the inter-dimensional submarine UX-01 hidden somewhere in subspace, and smiles. For a moment, Zoellik refuses to believe that his assassination attempt had failed, but then he realizes that it was a double posing as Dessler who had been killed. Dessler reveals that Celestella had already learned of the plot and had helped him to fake his demise. He pronounces Zoellik guilty, but the viewscreen shatters in gunfire from Zoellik's sidearm. He gasps for breath, and then frantically tosses the weapon aside. He grabs the microphone he had been using to broadcast his speech and pleads that he had acted only out of love for the empire. A single gunshot sounds, and Zoellik falls silent. He clutches his chest and turns around to see Goer, torn between anger and fear, aiming Zoellik's sidearm at him. The traitor collapses and his lifeless body bleeds out. At that moment, Yamato ascends from Balun and heads for the Magellanic gate. Okita orders the ship to turn toward Balun and begins the countdown for firing the wave motion gun. Before Garmillas weapons can hit Yamato, the wave motion gun fires directly into the heart of Balun. The planet's core starts to go critical, and Goer slowly understands the danger. Aboard Yamato, a safety on the wave motion gun is released and the battleship is catapulted through the gate. The gates fail in the very next moment, and a massive eruption of energy rises from Balun, consuming the Garmillas vessels that cannot flee. A New Sea of Stars Stunned by the shock of the recoil but safely on the far side of the gate network, the Yamato bridge crew slowly awakens. Blast shields are retracted, and the bridge is bathed in the brilliant glow of the Large Magellanic Cloud. The officers marvel at being closer to their destination than they could have hoped. In an observation lounge, Yurisha Iscandar looks through the eyes of Yuria Misaki and whispers that she is very nearly home. Analysis *The massive naval review is a true cross-section of the Garmillas Imperial Astro Fleet, representing nearly every ship class featured in the series: **''Zoelguut'' Class Super Dreadnought **''Gaiderol''-Class Astro Battleship **''Haizerad''-Class Astro Battleship **''Polmeria'' Class Astro Assault Carrier **''Gaiperon'' Class Multideck Astro Assault Carrier **''Meltoria'' Class Battle Cruiser **''Destoria Class Astro Heavy Cruiser **''Kelkapia'' Class High Speed Astro Battle Cruiser **''Kripitera'' Class Astro Destroyer **''FS''-Class ("Suckerfish") Astro Torpedo Boat **''Delamaya'' Class Amphibious Assault Ship ::In addition to the vessels gathered at Balun, the interior of the UX-01 makes an appearance in Dessler's transmission. Multiple fighter craft types are also on display at Balun. *Yamamoto shows personal concern for Shinohara for the first time in this episode, both before and after his recon mission. At the very least, it confirms the friendship that has developed since Yamamoto joined the fighter squadron. If her feelings are stronger than friendship, it may mean that she has lost her romantic interest in Susumu Kodai. *Misaki's personality does not emerge at all in this episode. Although she is on screen in two scenes, she is entirely under the control of Yurisha Iscandar both times. *Dessler's use of a double to keep himself safe from assassination resembles real-world twentieth and twenty-first century leaders who have used--or were rumored to have used--political decoys for security and other purposes. Questions *Why did Dessler stage his death rather than immediately arrest or execute Zoellik? *What will become of the Garmillas ships that survived Balun? (partial answer) (partial answer) (partial answer) Noteworthy Dialogue *''Zoellik surveys the ten thousand warships gathered at Balun:'' ::Zoellik: What a splendid sight . . . This dignity, this power . . . This is Garmillas! *''The supposedly dead Leader Dessler sends a broadcast to Zoellik and the Garmillan armada: ::Dessler: (Appearing on a viewscreen) You're in a good mood, Zoellik. ::Zoellik: Y-You . . . ::Dessler: I was so very moved by your speech. ::Goer: (Elated) Lord Dessler! ::Zoellik: That's impossible! Your ship sank . . . ::Dessler: You are quite a stupid man. ::Zoellik: Then, it was a double that died? ::Dessler: Celestella was well aware of your assassination plot. You've saved me from a very boring trip. Now, then . . . Your crimes are clear. But have you any final words, Zoel-- (The viewscreen is shot and disabled by a terrified Zoellik) *''Possessed by Yurisha Iscandar, Misaki looks upon the Large Magellanic Cloud:'' ::Misaki: I've returned . . . to my own sea of stars. Behind the Scenes *Footage of Yamato's charge through the galactic theater gate toward the assembled Garmillan ships, the firing of its wave motion gun, and the explosion of Balun is re-used in the Space Battleship Yamato 2202: Warriors of Love episode "The Beam of Light Flashes! / Radiance of the Wave Motion Gun." In that episode, Emperor Zworder of the Gatlantis Empire and his inner circle review the footage in the form of video acquired from the Garmillas. *The 2001 Star Trek: Voyager finale, "Endgame," also featured a starship stealing access to an enemy transit network in order to quickly cross vast distances of space, before destroying the network in its wake. Cast (Alphabetized by family name)Anime News Network article on Space Battleship Yamato 2199 http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=13776 *Kenji Akabane as Yasuo Nanbu *Shigeru Chiba as Sakezo Sado *Yuuki Chiba as Kenjiro Ota *Minori Chihara as Miezela Celestella *Yuya Chikaki as Sho Sawamura *Daisuke Hirakawa as Hiroki Shinohara *Masashi Hirose as Gremdt Goer *Yoshimasa Hosoya as Saburo Kato *Masaaki Itatori as Mikio Nemoto *Taira Kikumoto as Takeshi Daikuhara *Masato Kokubun as Yoshikazu Aihara *Houko Kuwashima as Yuki Mori *Junpei Morita as Hydom Gimleh *Satomi Moriya as Sword 3 NaviCom *Mugihito as Hikozaemon Tokugawa *Houchu Ohtsuka as Shiro Sanada *Daisuke Ono as Susumu Kodai *Takayuki Sugo as Juzo Okita *Kazuhiro Sunseki as Jun Nishikawa *Kenichi Suzumura as Daisuke Shima *Rie Tanaka as Akira Yamamoto *Hiroki Tasaka as Basiv Vandevel *Aya Uchida as Yuria Misaki *Norio Wakamoto as Herm Zoellik *Kouichi Yamadera as Abelt Dessler *Kiyohito Yoshikai as Takuya Kobashi Gallery Image:Dessler Returns from the Dead.png|Leader Dessler greets his would-be assassin. Image:Fleeing Balun.png|The devastation on Balun consumes most of the gathered Garmillas fleet. References Category:Yamato 2199 episodes